Editing a SpecView Project > Button Attributes & Strategy Controller Actions

This Button/Strategy Controller Action allows limited amounts of mathematical and other operations to be performed on Parameters.

Math functions always take the form of:

'Copy From Parameter' <Math Function> 'Operator Parameter' -> 'Copy To Parameter'

The settings below will write the value of Screw Speed x Drive Ratio to Roll Speed

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The parameters chosen for the 'Copy From', 'Operator' and 'Copy To' fields should usually be of the same type. For example, you cannot take a date, divide it by a boolean and put the result into a text type. There are however, some exceptions listed in the table below. If you need to do math on items of different types not listed below, then use the Copy function to copy the value(s) to the correct type first.

NOTE: This feature can be used to extract part of the text, such as part of a barcode from a barcode reader.

CopyFrom Type	MathFunction	Operator Type	CopyTo Type	Comments
Time	Any	Number (with decimals)	Time	Appropriate math is done on the time, e.g Multiply a time by 2.0
Text	Add	Text	Text	Concatenation. Use to add 2 pieces of text together.
Text	Subtract	Integer	Text	Left or Right function. If the Integer is positive, the Left-most 'x' characters are taken. If the integer is negative, the Right-most 'x' characters are taken. Examples:'ABCDE' Subtract 2 -> 'AB' 'ABCDE' Subtract -2 -> 'DE'
Text	Divide	Integer	Text	Mid function. The characters from the 'x'th position onward are taken, until the end of the text (First position is 0). Example:'ABCDE' Divide 2 -> 'CDE'
Text	Multiply	Text	Integer	Find function. The integer is setup with the position of the first occurrence of ''Operator Text' in the 'Copy From' text. If the text is not found, -1 is used. Example:'ABCDE' Multiply 'BC' -> 1'ABCDE' Multiply 'FRED' -> -1
Bool	Add	Bool	Bool	AND function: There are 4 possible combinations:
Bool	Subtract	Bool	Bool	NOT function. Note that the Operator Parameter is not used, but must be specified. Use the same parameter for the Copy From and the Operator. The 'Copy To' boolean is setup with the opposite state of the 'Copy From' boolean.
Bool	Multiply	Bool	Bool	OR function. There are 4 possible combinations:
Bool	Divide	Bool	Bool	XOR (eXclusive-OR) function: There are 4 possible combinations:
Number or Integer or Enum or Time	Add or Subtract or Multiply	Number or Integer or Enum or Time	Bool	If the result of the math is 0, then the bool will be Off, if the result is non-zero, then the bool will be On. This allows an Enumerated Alarm to be 'translated' into On/Off. Note: The other Math types will all result in Bool being set to Off.

The following three math functions use variables of type integer or number (with decimals):

•	The Abs Math Function takes the first Copy From value and puts into the Copy To variable the absolute value (the positive value) of it. However, it is also necessary to specify the second Copy From variable so set it to be the same variable name as the first.

•	The Max Math Function takes the two Copy From values and puts the higher value into the Copy To variable.

•	The Min Math Function takes the two Copy From values and puts the lower value into the Copy To variable.

The following three math functions use ONLY variables of type number (with decimals):

•	The Power Function takes the two Copy From values (x and y) and puts xy into the Copy To variable.

•	The Log_10 Function is to base 10. This is also known as the common logarithm and has many applications in science and engineering.

This Math function takes the two Copy From values (x and y) and puts the result into the Copy To variable.

•	The Log_e Function is the natural logarithm with 'e' as its base (where e ≈ 2.718).

This function takes the two Copy From values (x and y) and puts the result into the Copy To variable.

Doing math on types not listed above or not of the same type will usually result in no action being performed. Occasionally however, unpredictable results may occur. To avoid confusion, only perform math on items of the same type, or those listed above.

Parameters: Math Function

Parameters: Math Function